Rep. Slaughter says reform exists for migrant-worker program

A federal bill that will help American farmers find much-needed migrant workers exists, but it’s only in the first step of the legislative process.

Dan Miner

A federal bill that will help American farmers find much-needed migrant workers exists, but it’s only in the first step of the legislative process.

Rep. Louise Slaughter’s office said the H-2A program, which allows workers over the border to temporarily work on farms, needs to be changed to help Niagara County farmers find the help they need.

The AgJOBS Act of 2007 would make it easier to get more H-2A workers and allow them to stay longer, as well as streamlining the application process. If immigrants work trouble-free in the U.S. for certain amounts of time, they could be allowed to establish permanent residency.

“A reliable labor force is critical to our farmers in Western New York, and the current H-2A temporary worker program is simply unable to provide them with the requisite number of workers,” Slaughter said in an e-mailed statement. “That's why I support federal legislation to reform the H-2A program and create a stable seasonal work force.”

Criticism of the H-2A program has taken place been far and wide, including local farmers, county officials and members of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. It includes that there aren’t anywhere near enough people to fill the needs of farms and that the application process is time-consuming and confusing.

Others say that even if it were an easy process, it is not flexible enough to meet the needs of farmers who need lots of workers for short periods of time and doesn’t allow workers to stay in the country long enough to help farmers who need year-round help.

“It works in some ways for fruits and vegetables, but if you need to keep them over it doesn’t allow for pruning and trimming,” said Paul Bencal, president of the Niagara County Farm Bureau. “In the dairy industry, it doesn’t allow for full-time employees, and that’s where we’re having problems with it.”

Slaughter said she is “putting pressure on the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to keep the current temporary worker system running smoothly and provide as many workers as possible, so our crops in Western New York don’t rot on the vine.”